Protection of constitution obligatory: religious scholars

ISLAMABAD: The religious scholars at a seminar on Tuesday said that the protection of the constitution is obligatory and when democracy is related to solving problems with consultation and collective intelligence, then it is very much relevant to Islam.These viewpoints were presented by Ulema and intellectuals in a seminar organised by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) on “The Constitution of Pakistan, Democracy, and Islam”. Islamia College University Vice Chancellor Qibla Ayaz chaired the session. Islamic Ideological Council former chairperson Khalid Masood, Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies Director Amir Rana, Khursheed Nadeem, Rasheed Ahmad, Mushtaq Ahmad, Munir Ahmad, Hassan Farooq, Raja Aslam Khan, Allama Abdul Qudoos Muhammadi, Allama Mumtaz Nizamim and Mufti Khateeb Mustafai were among the speakers.Qibla Ayaz said that the trend of mobs taking over control in Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and Libya has now shifted towards Pakistan and it has the tendency of paralysing the state. He gave contemporary Islamic perspectives on state, constitution, and democracy and stressed on the need of ‘Ijtehad’.Khursheed Nadeem said, “We had not been able to proceed beyond the fundamental questions since 67 years.” “We are living in a modern nation state, but want to adjust centuries old traditions within this new paradigm,” he said. He stressed on the need of strengthening and protection of the constitution.Prof Raja Aslam said that if there is no rule of law in any country, the criminals become members of the parliament instead of going to jails. He further said that there is a need to study other state models in the world as well.Mushtaq Ahmad giving the historical perspective of the evolution of Islamic laws in Pakistan said that the judiciary could play an important role to remove certain ambiguities. “Our constitution is Islamic, but few articles need to be amended,” he added. He also stated that democracy is closest to Islam and there is need to follow it in its true essence.